Lives on Earth

3.8 Billion Years

  • A World Without Blue

    I was surprised to learn recently (thanks, iain carstairs) that Homer, despite his descriptions of the sky and the “wine-dark sea,” never once used the word blue in the Iliad or Odyssey, composed nearly 3000 years ago. Why? Ancient Greek… Continue reading

  • Finding Spirituality in Science

    I presented this lecture at the college and community Science Seminar at Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey in January 2016. My thanks to Dr. Paul Scheuler, organizer of the series. The talk focuses on three questions about life… Continue reading

  • Magical Thinking: Happy, Healthy, or Hazardous?

    Do you make wishes over birthday candles? That’s magical thinking. Have you crossed your fingers, wished someone good luck, tried to “push” the long fly ball fair or foul? Magical thinking. Do you pray for people or feel sure that… Continue reading

  • Most of Your Cells Aren’t Yours

    “All told, the [tiny] microbes in your body outnumber your own [much larger] cells by ten to one and can weigh as much as or more than your brain—about three pounds in an average adult. Each of us is thus… Continue reading

  • The Death of Everything

    I wrote last year about my five fears of dying. They included four familiar ones—fear of pain and fears of letting go of my life and my ego—along with a mysterious one that I could describe only as the fear… Continue reading

  • Monkey Kind, Monkey See, Monkey Know

    When monkeys help another monkey, they know it. “When given the option either to drink juice from a tube themselves or to give the juice away to a neighbour, the test monkeys would mostly keep the drink. But when the… Continue reading

  • The Clergy Letter Project

    The Clergy Letter Project is a set of letters signed by over 13,000 American clergy supporting the compatibility between science and their own creeds and urging the teaching of evolution in public schools. The Project consists today of four brief,… Continue reading